


The Colours to Our Melody

by imthederpyfox



Series: Sanders sides [18]
Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: ADHD, Angst, Anxiety, Best Friends, Boarding School AU, Bullying, Burning, Crying, Epilepsy, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Food Issues, Hair Pulling, M/M, Multi, PTSD, Picking, Romance, Roommates, Scratching, Self Harm, Synesthesia, aspergic!virgil, autistic!virgil, built up from it, clubs, colourblind!patton, go there first, hearing colours, lying, may need to add more tags, so if you wanna understand a little more about the characters, teenage problems, this is from a oneshot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-10 19:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17432453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthederpyfox/pseuds/imthederpyfox
Summary: This has grown from a oneshot I wrote not long ago, you can check it out here --> https://archiveofourown.com/works/16700122We follow the group through different times in their boarding school life, learning different aspects about themselves and each other along the way.(This may be the version of these guys that I adapt into a piece of artwork and some designs I've been making, but we'll see...)





	The Colours to Our Melody

**Author's Note:**

> Quite a few people liked this story and I had a few ideas so I decided to continue it.  
> Thank you all for the constant feedback despite my terrible upload schedule! I might just make a new timetable for myself like I used to. Either way I've had a very difficult time recently, so thanks for the feedback!
> 
> -Exza~ x

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the first stories I've done where it's taken me more than one writing session to do a chapter... I wanted longer chapters like i used to do on deviantart and stuff, so yeah, longer chapters. 
> 
> As always feedback is always welcome!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check notes at bottom for trigger warnings before reading if triggers affect you!

"Hey guys!" Patton beamed, jumping over to the other two in the dining hall.  
"Mornin' Padre!" Roman replied, smiling as he ate his toast.  
"Good morning." Logan added.  
"Where's Virgil?" Patton asked, and as if on cue.  
Virgil wondered into the room, slowly trundling over and flopping down at the table, downing a can of energy drink before dropping his head onto the desk. The others all looked at each other.  
  
"Still not used to early mornings I see?" Logan asked, earning a glare from Virgil.  
"Why do we need an assembly at half 6 in the morning?! Isn't that like... illegal...?" Virgil groaned, pulling another can of energy drink from his pocket and opening it.  
"You are clearly not thinking properly... also... those drinks are a disgrace and could cause you serious damage." Logan answered, looking at the can in disgust.  
"Bite me." Virgil groaned, forcing himself to sit up and down the second can.  
"I thought you hated fizzy drinks?" Roman asked, concerned, though slightly amused for his roommate.  
"Fizzy drinks hurt my throat and mouth but brighten my ever dwindling chance of never feeling anything ever again..." Virgil mumbled, half asleep.  
"Here ya go kiddo, I got you some cereal." Patton smiled, passing over the bowl of cereal.  
  
The angsty boy didn't exactly feel like eating, but shrugged and slowly ate it anyway. Classes didn't usually start until half 8, but for some reason there was an assembly at half 6 this morning, and Virgil DID NOT do mornings. The others continued with conversation, and by the time they were done eating and having to head to assembly, Virgil was half asleep on the table. Patton shook him awake and after a threat of Roman lifting him up over his shoulder, he got up and followed them to the assembly hall.  
  
\------------  
  
"Well that was a waste of time..." Declyn came up, throwing his arm over Virgil's shoulder.  
"You know it." Virgil smirked, though shrugged his arm off. He wasn't the best at accepting being touched.  
"So, what team is everyone joining then?" Patton asked, excitedly.  
"You don't honestly expect us to pick clubs do you?" Virgil groaned. New people, new clubs, new everything? No thank you. "It's complete bull."  
"Language!" Patton tutted as they all headed for their first lessons.  
"Well, I do not have to worry about that!" Roman laughed. No, captain of the drama club wouldn't.  
"Loudness..." Virgil mumbled, earning an apology from Roman. It must have been one of those days...  
"Well, you lot could always join me in the literature, astrology, biology or Maths clubs." Logan suggested, before waving as he split off from the group.  
"Yeah, we'll think about that!" Roman called after him. "Not~"  
"Don't be mean, Roman!" Patton scolded, but laughed. "Ooo, I might try the baking club!"  
"Sounds fun, Pat." Virgil smiled.  
  
Declyn and Patton split off to go to English and Virgil walked with Roman to music. Before Virgil could even pull the third can of energy drink that morning from his pocket, Roman had swept the thin boy up over his shoulder, earning a non-flattering squeak from the other. "No arguing, silly. You need some sleep and the worst they'll do is give you a detention, and I'll do something to get one as well and then you won't be alone."  
"ROMAN PUT. ME. DOWN!" Virgil yelled, and Roman complied, suddenly realising how much Virgil had been punching and kicking at him.  
The skinny boy tried to run away but Roman softly gripped his arm. "Hey, hey... It's me... Ok, calm down... I'm sorry..." Roman spoke softly. He knew that look. Virgil's eyes weren't fully focusing on him and were flitting about everywhere, and he shook. Every so often a small tick would show in his shoulder and his blinking.  
"N-Ne-never pick me u-up!" Virgil stuttered, hugging himself. "Ever!"  
"Ok, ok... I'm sorry, V..." Roman replied, holding his hands up to show he was safe. "Come on, let's get you back to the room. I'll stay there with you, if you like?"  
Virgil looked him up and down for a little while, but nodded and they walked in silence back to the room. His anxiety was always worse when he was tired like this, more tired than usual. At least now Roman knew not to pick him up... He would tell the others just in case, especially since Virgil was the lightest out of all of them by a long shot.  
He hated that his roommate struggled with this stuff.  
  
"So... Verge..." Roman spoke up when they got back into their room, taking any more cans of energy drink off of the youngest and putting them back in Virgil's mini fridge. They all had one, though it wasn't exactly 'allowed'.  
Virgil had already curled back up on his bed, causing Roman to chuckle.  
"It usually helps if you get changed first." He smiled exasperatingly at the other. "Virgil, you know I saw you with Patton behind the stage the other day?"  
"What about it?" Virgil mumbled, his eyes already closed and already back to his usual self instead of the terrified boy he had just seen. In all honesty Roman hadn't hardly seen that other side of him, even with being his roommate. He had his low points sure, but he hadn't seen a lot of the scared, broken boy, just the cracks.  
"Well, I wouldn't have really known how to help. So, I'm glad you were there." Roman admitted, taking off his boots and sitting on his own bed. "I did a bit more research into the whole synesthesia thing as well." He admitted, hoping that would help Virgil trust him more, though he doubted it... He had been rather harsh and unwelcoming to the youngest when he had first shown up.  
"That's good..." Virgil mumbled quietly, falling into sleep straight after.  
Roman smiled. He loved his strange group of friends. Thinking of that he messaged the others in the group chat -

Princey 🍩 - Hey guys, Virgil had a small incident so I took him back to the room, see ya at lunch!~

\- Before he laid down himself and got some more sleep, setting an alarm for just before the rush to get to lunch would happen. That way, he could get the other boy downstairs with food before everyone else. And that would mean the other boy would actually eat something... It had been a plan Patton started coming up with, and if Virgil was late for lunch, Patton would get him something while he was up there as well, that way the other didn't go hungry - even if he left half the food anyway.

\------------

Roman woke to see that Virgil wasn't in his bed, instead he heard music coming from the small bathroom they had. There were communal baths and showers, but each room had a toilet, sink and smaller shower. Roman sighed and rubbed his eyes, turning his alarm off as Virgil came back out of the bathroom, dressed in his clothes again and drying his hair with a towel.  
"Morning, sleeping beauty." Virgil spoke, a smirk playing on his lips as he turned his music off. He knew it wasn't really Roman's style and he wasn't exactly in the mood to feel judged, even if Roman didn't say anything.  
"Morning." Roman smiled, he was always amazed with how quick the others mood would change back to usual.  
  
From a few doors down they heard the telltale sign that their friend - Remmy Nova - was still in his room and skipping out on class as usual. They heard the loud playing of bass guitar and Virgil laughed. "Can't believe he's not been kicked out yet."  
"He somehow manages to make his grades up at the end of every semester." Roman smirked, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "We should get down to lunch."  
Virgil shrugged. "Sure."

They both got themselves ready and headed to Remmy's room to drag him to lunch, meeting the others at the corridor near the dining hall. Patton came over, looking relieved. "How are you feeling?" He asked Virgil straight away, who in turn gave a small glare to Roman.  
"I'm fine, I was just tired..." he replied, his voice small. He hated being the centre of attention.  
"Well I sent Logan ahead to get you some food, and I want you to try and eat it!" Patton huffed, leading them all into the dining hall. True to his word, Logan gave a small wave from the table near the edge of the hall where they usually tried to sit at lunch. None of them particularly liked crowds, unless it was an audience for one of Roman's shows. They made their way over, everyone greeting each other before they left Virgil to sit down and make conversation with Logan while the rest of them got their dinner.  
  
"Hello, Virgil." Logan smiled. "How are you feeling?"  
Virgil rolled his eyes, a smirk appearing on his face. "Never better, specs." He laughed at Logan's friendly glare to the nickname.  
"I believe some part of your alertness may have been caused by the energy drinks you consumed earlier." Logan explained, a text book and homework open on the table. Dude never took a break.  
"Yeah, right." Virgil sighed, forcing himself to eat some of the food. "I'm used to energy drinks, Lo. I was just tired and Roman initiated some contact that... Ii didn't appreciate." He shrugged.  
"Contact?" Logan asked, his eyes asking if he needed to defend the other from his roommate, though he knew that was ridiculous.  
Virgil flushed, realising what Logan was insinuating and finding it utterly ridiculous, and also feeling extremely embarrassed about what HAD set him off. "He uh... Picked me up..." He mumbled, seeing the realisation come across the intellectual boys eyes.  
"I apologise." Logan stated, dropping the subject.  
  
By the way Virgil noticed Patton give Roman a slap round the back of the head, he assumed the drama kid had told the others. He knew it wasn't Roman trying to bully him or make fun of him behind his back or anything, he knew it was simply Roman warning the others not the do the same, but he still always felt like they would all turn against him one day...  
"Have you thought about which club you're gonna join?" Remmy asked, sitting next to him and knocking him from his stupor.  
He smirked. "How did you find out about that? I didn't see you at the assembly."  
"Aww, were you looking for me?~" Remmy smirked, giving the other a wink. There wasn't anything behind it, he had learnt, Remmy was just a bit of a flirt. "And I have my ways~ Mainly Tommy."  
"I haven't thought about it." Virgil admitted, forcing himself to eat a bit more, despite not enjoying how much stronger the taste and texture was than usual. It was definitely one of those days... He knew some of the others had noticed, mainly Roman and Patton. Some days it was just all too much... "What about you? Thought you did lacrosse?"  
"I do, gurl, but they want people to not just be in a sports team and actually join a club." He shrugged. "I've had my eye on the band for a while, maybe I can bring in my amazing bass skills!" He chuckled, playing a bit of air guitar, causing Virgil to actually laugh. "HA! One point!" Remmy laughed as the others came over.

"No! I was in the lead!" Patton complained, though couldn't help but smile. He took out his phone and added one point to Remmy's tab. To explain, the group had a few little tallies going. One, was how many times people could make Virgil laugh. Two, was whoever won the bet for how many detentions/disciplinary's/tellings off Logan received from teachers. He may have been a prefect and had some of the highest grades in their year - or the entire school - he had an infinity to argue with the tutors over lesson plans, their way of teachers, or just that they were generally wrong. Three, was how many times Roman would start singing a day, which was fairly often. Four, was Patton giving 'Papa' points, which meant he was proud of you. He ended up giving out a lot of those points, and if he was in a particularly good mood everyone would end up with countless points, but it still put a smile on everyone's faces when Patton told them he was proud of them. "I joined the baking club!" Patton announced to the table.  
"Well done, Patton." Logan smiled. "Going back to the subject of having to find a club..."  
"Save the lecture, pocket protector!" Roman called grandly, a proud smile on his face for the half rhyme he'd managed to make. "I am in a club, Patton is now in a club, and you are in many clubs~" He added, he always complained about how boring Logan's rants were. 

Logan rolled his eyes. "You are intolerable." He told Roman, who made an 'offended princey noise' as they all liked to call it. "Besides, I was not talking to you, I was actually addressing Virgil."   
Virgil raised a brow. "What...?" He mumbled, he hated all this talk of joining clubs.  
"I would like to reiterate my offer of joining one of the clubs I am in." He offered, a small smile appearing on his face to ease Virgil's clear anxiety with joining a club. 

Virgil paused, noticing the others were also looking at him. "Um, I guess I could try..." He mumbled, poking at his food. "But you're not allowed to force me into doing loads of homework and stuff, our tutoring sessions are enough stress for me..." He gave a small smirk and Logan mirrored it.   
"Very well, I shall refrain from pestering you about school work." He agreed, readjusting his glasses.   
"And if I don't like it you can't force me to stay in the club." Virgil added. "I know they said I need to join one but..."  
"If you do not enjoy something I will not force it upon you. I am not the teachers."   
"Then why do you dress like one?" Roman quipped, laughing at the intellectual boys glare.   
"You are an oaf." Logan retorted before turning back to Virgil. "Maths club is tonight." 

\------------

Maths club wasn't exactly Virgil's thing. He tried his best, he really did, but he wasn't exactly having any fun. Wasn't that the point of a club?  
"How did you find maths club, Virgil?" Logan asked as the rest of the students cleared out, leaving the two to pack their stuff in the empty classroom. He had a small, hopeful smile on his face and Virgil sighed.  
"It's um... Not really my sort of thing... I guess..." He explained, hoping his point was coming across that he had no issue with his friend or his hobbies, but maths wasn't exactly something he enjoyed. "Sorry..."  
Logan held a hand up. "There is no reason to apologise, Virgil. I understand." His voice was reassuring and the sincerity in his eyes made Virgil relax a little.   
"Cool... Um, I think Patton wanted us all to hang out in your guys room." He said, changing the subject before Logan could remind him he needed to join a club if he didn't enjoy maths club.   
"Ah yes, I received a text. Should we head there now?" Logan suggested, pulling his satchel over his shoulder.   
"I'll meet you there, I need a piss."  
"Your use of the English language, as always, astounds me." Logan joked, waving as he headed from the room and back to his, Patton's and Declyn's shared room. Their room was a bit bigger than the two person rooms, though not many students were in the three person rooms.

Virgil knew that Logan sometimes get annoyed with the other two invading his space, and would come to visit Virgil while Roman was at theatre club or school play rehearsals. Patton loved living with the other two and never complained about it, typical Patton. And Declyn didn't really complain, though he attempted to keep to himself most of the time so Virgil assumed he probably wasn't thrilled living with two other people. 

He shrugged to himself and headed to the bathroom, going to the toilet and washing his hands, but as he turned off the faucet and looked up at the mirror, he noticed Tommy leaning against the door frame.   
"Evening Virgil." He smirked.  
"It's not nice to sneak up on people, Tommy..." Virgil replied, drying his hands.   
"Who's sneaking? I was just coming to say hello~" Tommy smiled. "Sorry if I scared ya." He stepped closer.   
"It's fine..." Virgil replied. He didn't know why but he always felt on edge around Remmy's roommate.   
"How are you doing?" Tommy lent against one of the cubicles, his hands in his trouser pockets. Somehow he managed to get away with not wearing his school uniform. The teachers didn't mind all the time of course, as long as the students were wearing at least one item of school clothing every day - Virgil usually got away with just the socks and maybe a sweatband or something - but Tommy never wore any school items and never got reprimanded like everyone else did. 

"I'm fine..." Virgil shrugged. He realised that Tommy was mostly in the way of his route to the door. He didn't like it when people did that... "You?"  
"I'm doing better now." Tommy smirked, and Virgil didn't really want to know what that meant. "Got any plans?"   
"Jus-just... hanging out with th-the guys." Virgil cursed himself for his stutter beginning to show itself again. He had managed to teach himself not to stutter all the time, with the help of the school therapist Mr. Picani, but his speech problems came back when he was uncomfortable or stressed.   
"Sounds fun, so, you found a club to join?" It wasn't that Tommy was a bad person, Virgil didn't judge people before he got to know them, after all, all through his life people judged him before they knew him. It was the way Tommy spoke that just... didn't sit right with him. He knew he was probably just judging the other boy. Tommy had never done anything to him or the others after all. But it always felt as if he was silently judging the youngest boy. 

"Not yet. You?" Virgil asked, telling himself to relax, it was only a simple conversation. He was jumping to conclusions as always. Tommy wasn't trying to block the door, it just so happened to be where he was standing. Tommy wasn't trying to make him uncomfortable, he just hadn't been around many autistic people and probably didn't realise that most of them weren't the best at socialising. Tommy wasn't trying to invade or hurt him or anything, he was just trying to be friends. Virgil supposed they were friends in a way, they had talked before and he was Remmy's roommate.   
"I have a few ideas." Tommy smiled. "Perhaps we could join a club together?"  
"Maybe... Well, I um, I bet-better get going." He gave a smile. He was being mean to Tommy, he realised. He should try harder to be nicer.   
"Oh, to the others...?" Tommy asked, nodding slowly, his smile disappearing. "You guys must have fun, right?"  
"Yeah, I-I guess." Virgil gave an awkward smile. "I mean, we're all pretty different but... they're my friends, ya know?"  
"Yeah, I know." Tommy tilted his head slightly, observing the other with an expression Virgil couldn't really read. He hated not really being socially proficient sometimes. Maybe Tommy was feeling left out? "Roman still giving you issues?" Tommy continued, and Virgil paused.   
"Issues...?"  
"Yeah, you're little arguments and stuff when you first met. Roman was kinda mean to you after all." He shrugged.   
"Just some... nicknames." Virgil tried to explain. He and his roommate had become a lot closer, though they weren't exactly best friends, they were able to hang around each other and Roman looked out for him. 

Tommy raised a sceptical brow. "Nicknames are for friends, right?" He shook his head slightly. "Sorry, don't wanna be rude. I just thought you wouldn't really enjoy hanging out with someone who used to bully you."  
Virgil paused yet again, thinking over what the other boy was saying. "He didn't... Roman didn't bully me."  
"Are you sure? I'm sorry I must have read the situation wrong." Tommy shrugged, but his tone showed he didn't believe it. "What about the others, you getting along ok?"  
"Yeah, I think so." Virgil nodded, truthfully sometimes he thought he was the outsider looking in, and that the others only tolerated him because they felt bad for him. But they were his friends. Right?  
"That's good. Nobody giving you any issues?" Tommy continued.   
"Um, no I don't think so?"  
"You sure? I noticed you weren't in Science earlier."

Virgil wanted to look away from the other, but was scared of doing so, he didn't like this questions. "I wasn't feeling very well, that's all."  
Tommy seemed to sense his tension and held his hands up in surrender. "I mean no offence, Verge." He stated, a soft smile creeping onto his features. "I'm just trying to make conversation, yeah?"  
"Ye-yeah, of course." Virgil nodded.  
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I'm not the best with other people." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Virgil watched him, shit maybe he wasn't giving Tommy the benefit of the doubt. He knew he shouldn't be so quick to judge, but coming from his background he couldn't help being untrusting.   
"Oh, no, it's fine! I'm sorry... I'm kinda out of it today." He smiled slightly.   
"Don't apologise, Verge." Tommy shook his head slightly, that smile creeping back. "So, you were saying? About the others?"  
"Was I...? Virgil asked, knowing they had been talking about the others, but he didn't remember saying anything about them.  
"Yeah, about how they were making you feel recently?" Tommy raised a brow, something akin to worry crossing over him. "You must be tired..."  
"Oh..." Virgil mumbled, he hadn't remembered saying that.  
"You can tell me anything, Virgil, I'm here for you." He prompted. "Tell ya what, why don't I walk you back upstairs and you can tell me what's bothering you, I'd hate to think your 'friends' aren't treating you right." He came over and placed an arm over the younger boys shoulders and began guiding him out of the bathroom and upstairs.   


"Um, I don't think I'm having any issues with them..." Virgil mumbled, had be really been saying something he couldn't remember? "They're my friends..."  
"That isn't what you were going to say before." Tommy countered. "Trust me, you can tell me." He smiled.   
"I guess um... Sometimes..." He looked down at the floor as they walked, Tommy's hand still firmly on his shoulder. He was mainly focusing on the touch. He didn't like unwelcome touches. He didn't like physical contact. "I feel a bit left out..." He admitted. "Like... I don't know."  
"Go on." Tommy turned to face him, holding eye contact. They had stopped walking and Virgil realised they were outside of Tommy's room.   
"Like... Like they're all judging me... Like I'm not on of them." He spoke softly.   
"Not one of them...?" Tommy folded his arms. "Aren't they your friends?"  
"Well, yeah, of course!-"  
Tommy slowly shook his head. "I don't think friends should make you feel like that, Virgil... They don't sound like very good friends to me..." He stepped back. "Look, you know where to find me if you ever need to talk, I'm right here." He patted his door. "You gonna be ok with them?" His brows furrowed in what seemed to be worry.   
Virgil stared at him for a moment, before looking down at the floor. 

"Virgil, be honest with me, you're safe with me." Tommy reiterated. "If you don't feel like being with them then you just have to be honest."   
"I do want to be with them, they're..."  
"Your friends?" Tommy raised a brow. "Well, just make sure to look out for yourself. Don't just accept anyone's friendship. You'll get yourself hurt." He gave a pointed look. "Take care of yourself, Verge."   
Virgil couldn't say anything, he only nodded. Tommy patted his upper arm and headed into his room, leaving Virgil alone in the corridor. 

The boy stood there for a while longer, before turning and looking down the corridor to Logan, Patton and Declyn's room. He shook his head softly, tears making their way to his eyes. He felt a lump appear in his throat and tried swallowing it down. Suddenly he didn't feel like seeing the others... he'd probably just ruin their fun anyway.   
He headed into his own room across the hall and closed the door, ignoring the messages he saw from the other boys wondering where he was.

\------------  
  
"Virgil...? You still awake...?" Patton's soft voice came from the doorway, where a stream of light shone in. Virgil had face planted his pillow after coming into his room and stayed there for a few hours.   
"Mmm..." Was the response. He hadn't even bothered to take his sneakers off. It wasn't that he was tired, he was always tired, he was overwhelmed. Today had been sensory overload at its finest and the quick nap he'd managed to have when Roman bought him back to the room had quickly worn off with his afternoon classes. True it hadn't been as bad as usual, most days of sensory overload he got were completely unbearable, but it was just on the cusp of irritating and draining to say the least. Now that he'd been knocked from his thoughts however those feelings crept back. The room had gotten dark without him realising and the beam of light from the door was already beginning to hurt his head, even though he wasn't directly looking towards Patton. He could feel the fabric of his clothes move around him and it made him want to scratch off his own skin. It may not have started as the worst sensory overload but now it was spiralling down. 

Patton stayed at the door, he didn't want to invade the other boys privacy. "Want me to go...?"   
His silence was all the confirmation Patton needed. He knew the boy didn't mean to offend, so he tried his best to take no hit from it, and left, pulling the door closed behind himself and shutting off the light once again. 

Virgil pushed himself up, really not wanting to, and yanked off his clothes, scratching at his skin until it left marks. The marks burnt but he didn't care, he needed to feel something other than overwhelmed after all. He pulled on his softest, comfiest, fluffiest pyjamas - not the warm ones, he didn't want to overheat - and crawled back into his bed, curling up and facing the wall. He stared at the tiny patch of peeled wallpaper, and began picking at that spot yet again. 

\------------

He didn't know exactly how long he'd been doing that, even when he heard his roommate come in and quickly had to shield his eyes from the light that flooded the room. It was only Roman's nightstand lamp but it was enough to send his head thumping again.   
"What happened, Verge?" Roman asked, knowing the other was awake. He began getting changed.   
"Tired..." Virgil mumbled. "Didn't... feel up to it..." He added softly, still staring at the same spot.   
"Are you ok...?" Roman asked, walking over and perching on the edge of his roommates bed, careful not to be too close. "Did something happen?"  
Virgil sat up, turning to look at him, his eyes stinging. "Nothing happened. And if it did I can handle things myself, I don't need you all babying me all the time!" He quickly closed his mouth as soon as he'd spoken, his eyes going slightly wide. Roman paused.   
  
"I... I never meant-" He put his hand forward and pulled away when the other boy flinched. "Virgil? Is there anything I can do?"   
Virgil froze. He stared at the other boy for a short while before looking down. "I'm sorry..." He muttered. "I just... I wanna be alone... um, it's Saturday tomorrow so, we can all o get coffee at the Strained Bean if you... if you all wa-wanna...?"   
  
Roman watched him for a second. "I won't argue if you need to be alone, Virgil... But you know you can talk to me if anything happens? I know you don't need us to make sure you're ok but... That's what friends do, ya know?" He smiled softly, expecting his roommate to smirk or make a sassy quip, but he just looked down, fiddling with his nails, trying to hide behind his fringe. "Alright... Goodnight, Verge..." Roman stood back up and respected Virgil's wishes, and got into his own bed, seeing his roommate put his headphones on and curl up on himself, looking so much younger than he actually was. He sighed and turned off his light, ready for some sleep and a nice lie in in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER -
> 
> manipulation, lying, somewhat abusive situation stuff, anxiety, angst, sensory overload  
> (let me know if I missed anything)


End file.
